


Because they've both been there

by nitorisource



Category: Free!
Genre: Claustrophobia, M/M, Panic Attacks, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-10
Updated: 2014-09-10
Packaged: 2018-02-16 20:39:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2283810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nitorisource/pseuds/nitorisource
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of all the days he's come to the hospital, Sousuke decided to use the elevator today. And it just had to stop with him inside it. But out of all the people that could have been standing there with him, it just had to be Makoto.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because they've both been there

“Ah.”

Makoto shifts uneasily on his feet as the elevator doors open to let Sousuke on, though he stares blankly at the brunet for a few moments before stepping inside. He turns so that his back is to the Iwatobi captain, who he’s had about half a word of conversation with before, and he hits the button for the sixth floor of the hospital, praying that the overly-friendly guy doesn’t try to strike up any small talk.

“Y-Yamazaki-kun, I didn’t think I’d run into you here.” Shit. Sousuke tries to make sure his crestfallen groan is entirely inaudible. “How is your shoulder?”

“Fine,” is the only gruff answer he offers, and thankfully Tachibana takes the cue. The two of them stand there silently as the numbers slowly shift up from two to three, and he wonders to himself why this feels like the longest elevator ride of his life.

Several seconds pass but the three still refuses to change to a four, and just as Sousuke opens his mouth to express his confusion, the entire thing rumbles suddenly before a loud creaking noise rings out in the space above them. The two of them grab on to the wall railings as the elevator gives another creak and the lights flicker for an instant before half of them give out, and the drawling elevator music ceases entirely to stoop them in an breathless and tense silence.

“Why did the elevator stop?” Sousuke bites out, a dumb question to ask someone who is also in the elevator with him but he can’t stand the quiet or the way he can hear his blood rushing and pounding behind his ears.

“I don’t know,” Makoto answers, staring around the small space. “I’m sure everything will be fine in a few minutes.” Even as he says this, he notices how pale Sousuke seems to have gotten, but he isn’t sure what to ask or say.

“Right. Right.” Sousuke’s hands are gripping the rail hard enough that his knuckles are turning white and he’s trying to think of anything aside from the carrying weight capacity labeled over the shut door or the fact that they’re somewhere between the third and fourth floor or how there are only twelve measly tiles of floorspace to share between him and the other guy.

He shuts his eyes tightly and tries not to think about how low the ceiling to this elevator feels, tries to imagine he’s somewhere else and just not here, and he thinks he can hear a faraway voice calling his name.

“Yamazaki-kun?”

He tries to focus on breathing, but it’s been so long since he’s been trapped somewhere like this and he wishes he had just taken the damn stairs this time around; if only he had taken the stairs. He can’t believe that out of every damn day he’s had to make a visit to this hospital, today is the day the elevator stops with him caged inside it.

“Yamazaki-kun, what’s wrong?”

He feels a hand close around his wrist and he snaps his eyes open and he remembers that he’s not alone in this elevator and he doesn’t want to break down like this in front of someone but  Makoto is just standing too close over him - he’s too tall and the room feels tighter than before with someone this broad-shouldered inside of it with him, and suddenly Sousuke feels sweat gathering on his palms and down his back and on his neck, and he’s still trying to breathe properly.

Makoto takes a hesitant step back as he removes his hand and that makes Sousuke feel just a little bit better, but he knows the elevator still isn’t moving and it doesn’t help that the light that blew out earlier is trying to flicker back to life because he thinks his heart is flickering and shuddering erratically along with it. One of his hands comes up to clutch at the fabric of his shirt over his chest and he tries to suck in more air, tries to get his head to stop pounding and spinning.

“Yamazaki-kun, it’s - it’s okay,” Makoto says warily, still not daring to come closer.

_Fuck. Shit, no, it’s not okay_ , Sousuke thinks back hastily, but he can’t get any words out of his dry mouth. He curses at the familiar way panic is beginning to flood into his system and he finally allows himself to drop to the floor to make himself feel smaller, to make it seem like there’s more space in this tiny, tiny elevator, but he’s breathing so hard he’s afraid he’s going to use up all the air.

There it is, that feeling of thinking he’s going to die, a feeling that he’s used to but at the same time he can’t shake himself out of it. “Oh god, oh god,” he mutters as tries to get his gasping breaths under control, tries to get himself to snap out of this because he knows he’s going to be okay and that he can’t die just from being somewhere like this but it’s useless fighting against the feeling of the walls around him pressing closer and closer, trying to crush him.

“S-Sousuke. Please, calm down. Breathe properly. Slowly.” Makoto’s voice is unsteady, but urgent, and Sousuke thinks that maybe he can focus on that. He can focus on that, and his hands go up to clutch at his hair and scalp and he tries to focus on that feeling of pulling and pain too, but he can’t help the overwhelming patheticness of having to appear this way in front of someone else, and that only makes his breathing speed up again. Suddenly, a sob leaves his mouth, trembles throughout his whole body, and he feels hot tears pressing at the back of his eyes.

“Remember, you’re safe. You’re fine. Just exhale slowly. I’m right here with you.”

Sousuke’s vision and attention focus enough to notice that Makoto is on the other end of the elevator, crouched down just like he is so that he can make out the concern and calm emanating from those green eyes. He does as he’s told, breathing out shakily when Makoto says so and inhaling deeply through his nose as the brunet leads them.

“You’re okay. You’re safe. Keep breathing, Sousuke.” Makoto repeats his reassuring words over and over, and Sousuke anchors himself to that voice and tries to convince himself of the validity of what Makoto is telling him. He wipes hastily at the few tears that have rolled down his cheeks, and with a shaking, damp hand he feels again over his chest, at how strongly his heart beats for him.

Makoto watches him as he slowly allows himself to stretch his legs out into the floor after having cramped himself up in that position for so long. He feels winded as he comes down from his panic attack, and after a few moments he brings his legs back up to his chest and wraps his arms around his knees. He’s still shaking terribly, and tears continue to leak from his eyes despite how he periodically tries to wipe them away, but he tries to focus on keeping his breathing steady.

His eyes glance up at Makoto, almost urging him to keep talking, because there’s still no sign of them getting out of here anytime soon.

“Sousuke?”

Makoto isn’t sure what else to do for him, though he’s glad it seems the worst is over. He thinks that filling in the silence between them will make it easier for Sousuke, so he says suddenly, “I’m here because because Ran almost broke my wrist while we were playing a game of basketball.”

Sousuke blinks at him.

“She was trying to get the ball out of my hand, and Ren tried to jump on me free behind. They’re both about half my height but they brought me crashing to the concrete,” he says, smiling warmly.

Sousuke still doesn’t say anything, but his shoulders relax as Makoto goes on.

“I landed on my wrist in a strange way, and then Ran accidentally stepped on it while we were all trying to get up and she tripped and kneed it. It all happened at once.” He raises his left arm, which Sousuke didn’t notice until now, and turns it around in the air to show off the bandage wrapped tightly over his wrist. There are already marker drawings and the words, I’m sorry, nii-chan!’ scribbled onto it.

“I cried. Just a little,” he admits sheepishly. “It’s fine, though. Nothing broken.”

He goes on, sharing small pieces about his two siblings until he moves on to talk about the antics of Nagisa and Haru tend to pull during swim practice, and eventually Sousuke joins enough to say things like, “Momo does that, too. It’s annoying.” And then they move on to the topic of Rin, and they both laugh at the little things their redheaded friend overreacts about and how he still cries, even now as they’re all third years.

Sousuke’s still exhausted and still embarrassed for how terribly he overreacted, just how he feels after every time it turns out this way, but he’s more than glad that it was Makoto that happened to be in the elevator with him. He’s glad he wasn’t alone, and that he wasn’t with someone who probably would have only made him feel worse.

When the elevator creaks back to life and the music starts to fill the small room again, they both sit there and intently watch the floor numbers as it smoothly glides from three to four, four to five, and finally up to six. Makoto is the first to stand, and he offers Sousuke his hand just as the elevator doors open.

“Thanks,” he says curtly, accepting it. “I’m--”

“Don’t be sorry.” Makoto gives him another warm, radiating smile as he drops his hand. “It wasn’t your fault. I - well, I used to feel that way, too. When I was younger, when it came to the ocean,” he says in a small voice, lowering his eyes.

Sousuke stares at him for a few moments before nodding his head. “Thanks,” he says again. “I hope your wrist feels better.” With that, he turns around and walks onto his floor, while the elevator doors shut Makoto in again.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> request from tumblr anon!!  
> ah, this was difficult to write. i just want sousuke to be ok


End file.
